Lowe: Sabres being 'juvenile'

Oilers GM Kevin Lowe shouldn't expect a Christmas card from Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn this winter.

After the Oilers' unsuccessful bid to snag winger Thomas Vanek with a seven-year, $50 million offer sheet days after the wounded Sabres lost co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, Quinn was livid that Lowe drove up the price on the team's top goal scorer.

"We always had an attitude here that we don't do these things," Quinn said at this afternoon's news conference in HSBC Arena. "When it comes to the Edmonton Oilers, if there's an opportunity to put an offer sheet on a player as long as we're alive, we'll be comfortable doing that. They can expect it if it's in our best interest."

Lowe wasn't impressed.

"It's quite a bold statement by that organization," the seven-time NHL All-Star said. "I think it's rather juvenile on their part.

"Fellas, it's a business. Take the personal out of it. It was the right offer for the Oilers, and apparently it was right for the Sabres."

Lowe has a point. He's doing whatever it takes to make the Oilers a better club and clearly Vanek was worth the price or else the Sabres wouldn't have matched.

I wonder how the fans in Edmonton respond to such swashbuckling moves. Can Buffalo fans even fathom such a thing?

---Tim Graham

Comments

[Amit]

So the Sabres will end up paying for Vanek about as much as the Flyers gave Briere? Did Larry Quinn move into Love Canal recently, because he's on something. I don't understand how you can throw down that much cash for Vanek after low-balling both Briere and Drury. Shows the Sabres won't pay anyone well unless they are forced to. Bullshit.

[mkijanka@bellsouth.net]

Let's hope #26 lives up to these lofty financial levels with an equal amount of production befitting a high caliber player. Just because "the market" says you're worth X amount and you're able to get it, YOU NOW HAVE TO PROVE YOURSELF AS WELL. Having such a large amount of cash after only two seasons will make ANY PLAYER soft and want to sit back. Can TV pass the 50 goal mark this year...we can only hope. For those of you fans wondering about potential line ups, take a look at the roster currently on sabres.com and you'll notice that Dylan Hunter is already plugging 1 vacancy. If this happens that Hunter fills the void from our recent "gutting" and puts forth the effort he did in the minors there will be no more crying about Briere and Drury leaving us. I heard that this guy FLYS on the ice and has great hands!Regier is right about one thing...WE HAVE TALENT ON THE FARM and all these young guys need is a chance to prove it. With the kind of cash that's been flying around for a 2 year player, these rookies can't help but think they have a shot to hit it big with the new CBA. Can you imagine Hunter posting 40-40 his 1st year??!! It'll be Danny, who?? in no time. Keep the faith.

[LQ sucks]

Smooth move on the part of the Sabres. Their words are going to clearly distance Vanek against them. What player wants to hear from their employer that they are "not worth" the amount of money thats been offered to them by another team!

[Joaquin Dospasos]

The moronic writers at the news, who seem to relish breaking up our sports teams, are responsible for whipping up such a furuor over the departure of Drury that the Sabres were compelled to overspend on Vanek. Drury wanted to leave. He wanted to win the cup with his hometown team, a contender, rather than stay in Buffalo. The News reported that he had to wait a full 2 weeks for an offer. How insane! Face it, your hero wanted to play elsewhere.
Now the writers are questioning the situation that they brought the Vanek signing. Unreal. We need another paper.

[Bull]

Lowe isn't doing what is best for the Oilers, he's playing games to drive up the cost of keeping restricted players. This is "terrible" for the sport, particularly small market teams like Buffalo and Edmonton. If you have to think twice that Vanek is worth the $50M, well then add in 4 1st round picks.
I think our Tim Graham is still crying about losing his pet players Briere and Drury. I could never imagine 4 1st rounders and $50M for Vanek, and I know Lowe wasn't looking for that. Furthermore, I'd much rather keep Vanek than Briere. Are we going to have a whole season of Graham writing articles with his panties in a knot?

[Peter]

If there were 2 papers, like in the days of the CE, this rag might feel more compelled to step up their game a little more. You know, kinda like they expect the Buffalo teams to do. That will never happen with no competition to push this rag in that direction. The buffoons that write for the News are idiots on their best days, but they are ALWAYS quick to point out the imperfections of others.

[GG]

LQ is embarrassing himself everytime he opens his yapper. Lowe is right it is a business, actually it's really an auction. The sooner the Sabres realize that they'll start acting accordingly. You either bid the market rate or you don't despite the market being inflated. If not, keep your mouth shut LQ and act like a professional. Vanek isn't worth 7MM, the draft picks would have been better.

[Jeff]

Quinn is an absolute incompetent....over the past week the Sabres front-office has bungled the free-agent situation overall to near historic proportions. The way that Briere and Drury were mishandled, while Vanek - easily the most attractive RFA on the market - was not locked up in time, is simply mind-boggling, didnt Quinn ever take a business management or negotiations class in his supposedly lofty executive career? Now, instead of acting prudently, like San Jose and Calgary in locking up talent before they get to the market, such as paying $5 million per year to Briere (which he gladly would have accepted even three months ago) and $5 million to Vanek (which he would accepted even a day ago), we are instead paying $10 million to Vanek ALONE over the next 2 years. How pathetic.....the front office couldnt have bungled the situation worse if it tried, we went from a model franchise to typical Buffalo retread in less than a week

[LuvBuff]

The draft picks would not have been better.

[LuvBuff]

That's why Edmonton was quick to give them up.

[John S]

I'd love to call Regier and Quinn a couple of birdbrains. But I really do like birds and would not want to insult their intelligence. If this pair isn't fired in the next week, I will begin to lose what is left of my respect for Tom Golisano. Please Tom, please pull the plug before they do anymore damage. Can't we at least place them on paid leave?

[Kevin]

You guys at the Buff News are way too pessimistic. Quinn did what he had to do with Vanek, and Lowe- he's a putz. THere was no way it wasn't getting matched, so all he did was drive up prices of group 2 FA's. It was a fruitless effort on his part, and he made an enemy. It was not a good business decision for Edmonton.

[Lawrence]

More damage control from the top. They are the very definition of reavtive management as opposed to pro-active management. TV still has a whole lot of learning to do and don't think for one instant that Lindy would not bench him for not playing hard despite his well enhanced salary. This is a lot of commitment to unproven talent, ESPECIALLY when he could have been locked up for much less risk. idiots run our team, idiots, idiots!

[Jay]

The Oilers just played the Sabres mgt.!

Now they look even more stupid than they did before.

If they cut deals with these guys months ago the Sabres would have their three best players locked for 4+ years. Now they lost two and were forced to overpay for the third.

If Drury and Brierre were signed, they could have let Vanek go for the four #1 draft picks and had two per year for four years. What a team they could have built and they would have been ready just as Drury and Briere were fading.....

This is the blunder of the decade for Buffalo sports. What a joke.

[Chad]

Before I respond to a couple of the previous posts, let me preface that by saying I think Buffalo ended up paying more than it had to here. They could have signed Vanek for not a penny over $5.5 mil if they took care of this as late as Monday or Tuesday (a good seven weeks after their season). With that said, they're keeping an obvious talent who is only 23 years old.

Amit- Are you really upset that they're paying Briere money to Vanek instead of Danny? Vanek scored 43 goals last year and is seven years younger than Briere. When TV's contract is up, he'll be 30 (Briere's age when he starts THIS season). When Danny's is up, he'll be 38. Unless you're operating under the assumption that Vanek is not going to get better--which you have no reason to be doing given his significant improvement from his first to his second year--there's no reason to be questioning this money going to Vanek and not Briere.

To anyone who thinks that Kevin Lowe was doing this to simply drive the price up on Buffalo, grow up and get serious. Kevin Lowe has long been thought to be one of the classiest guys in hockey. He was simply doing what he thought was best for his franchise. The whole point of making an offer to a restricted free agent is to pay him about what you think he's worth to a contract that you hope won't get matched. You're insane if you think Lowe was just sitting there thinking "hmm, I know they're going to match this so why don't I make Vanek as expensive as possible." What motivation does he have to do that? Stop playing the victim, Sabres fans.

[Jason]

What do most people not understand?? Is bucky gleason that stubborn and hard headed. Its so easy to say why didnt you sign this guy 5 months ago or sign this player at another point in time. Why on earth would vanek agree to a deal way back at the start or middle of the season when he knows hes most likely gunna be able to hit it big. His agent isnt stupid, he did his job perfectly and got vanek a huge contract. For those yelling for a contract offer last summer or last fall....spare me!! When briere got 5 million a year everyone criticized that on how he could possibly get that much. But it would have made a ton of sense to offer vanek 5 million or so a year at that point with him coming off a sub par rookie year and a benching in the playoffs. Get a clue. Our management isnt as stupid as everyone seems to think.

[Lawrence]

There's no reasn wo write off TV before he has a chance to truly be "the Man." But now his hockey growth curve has been seriously alterred and he has to become more dominant in a shorter amount of time. Crosby has the advantage in that he was brought up under Super Mario's wing for a while and he has always known for the longest time that he would in fact be the savior for the Penguins. TV is just giddier than a kid in a candy store right now, but when the season hits. . . well then we'll see. Young, yes, talented, yes, like Crosby, no, this team's savior, no.

I bet anything that TV had no inclination of being catapulted to the top of this team's leadership and be expected to carry the lion's share of the responsibility for how the team performs on the ice. Leaders are not made overnight, but they sure as heck are paid that way. Time will tell, but the odds are against him.

[Chad]

How does Vanek "have to be more dominant in a shorter period of time?" Are you going to be upset if he "only" scores 40+ goals again next season? Did Buffalo end up having to overpay him? Of course. But a lot of you guys have to stop letting your emotions over this (and losing Briere, Drury) drive your criticism of Vanek. I can't believe Sabres fans are nitpicking Vanek's game right now. A lot of you sound like scouts right before a draft: focusing on the few things the great players can't do rather than focusing on everything he can do. Vanek is going to be a 50+ goal scorer at some point during this contract. They ended up paying more than they had to for him (which is certainly management's fault), but I still don't get why on earth people are taking shots at Vanek for this. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills right now.

[abe]

Briere is 30. By the end of his contract with Philly he will be 38. Vanek is 23, at the end of his contract he will be 30. See the difference? I think this was much smarter than paying out that much for Briere who will probably have some bad injury in the coming months or years that will make anyone who wanted him regret it. Knowing my luck though, he'll probably win the cup this year. Who knows, maybe Darcy was just worried about all of Buffalo (including its Diaspora) storming the offices at HSBC arena with torches and pitchforks.

The Drury thing still blows my mind. I am thoroughly embarrassed.

[Paul]

Jason - If they wanted to keep some of these guys why didn't they either try and sign them before the season or start to try and sign them right after the season ended?

Are you telling me the players wanted to wait an entire year to try and get the bigger money when they had no idea what the market held AND they could have blown out a knee that would ended their careers?

Each one of these guys would have signed for a lot less last year. That's a fact!
It's not 20/20 hidsight either as they had a near Stanley Cup nucleus. They could have had it for years too.

The Sabres didn't begin to "negotiate" until a week or so ago with all three players (Briere, Vanek and Drury).

The Sabres thought they were going to dictate a market they (Quinn) still doesn't understand.

Bottom line: Management can be nasty/abusive to their employees, but if the market changes WATCH OUT! That's what happened and Quinn has no answers other than pure frustration and a clear lack of understanding as to what horrible mistakes he/they made.

[Chad]

The argument that they should have signed Vanek before last season is completely invalid. The city of Buffalo had gone cold on him and he was just benched in the playoffs. That's a guy you wanted to re-sign? Seriously?

The failure was not signing him earlier in the offseason. Maybe this will teach Buffalo's management that the longer you wait, the higher the price. Not sure why they haven't learned that yet, though.

[Lynn]

Thank you Jason. I thought I was the only one willing to public state that bucky gleason is an idiot. I wish the video clips of the press conference included larry quinn's reference to bucky's crystal ball - classic.

[Rich]

I don't mind spending money on a kid who put up the numbers he did and played as hard as he did in the playoffs. His production was off a bit in the playoffs but most of it due to some amazing saves by Ricky D of the Islanders and Emery. FInding guys at the trade deadline that can add the leadership Drury provided will be the challenge. Good signing! The kid is no fluke. I say go after Stempniak!

[terriblejournalism]

Heh. Bucky Gleason made a fool of himself today!

[TimGraham]

Hello, everybody. I'm all for dissenting opinion and I'm thick-skinned enough to handle a sharpened insult, but if you want your comments to be kept on the board you need to refrain from the obscenities.

We have staffers whose job is to delete those posts whether you're patting us on the back or ripping us, so please don't think we're eliminating critical posts. We're just trying to keep it clean, and that includes the obvious usage of asterisks and abbreviations.

Thanks reading.

[TimGraham]

Thanks FOR reading. It's been a long day.

[TwoWayStreet]

Tim. Maybe you should ask Mr. Sullivan to refrain as well from obscenities when returning emails. I understand where you coming from, but it should be a 2 way street. At least my posts have asterisks in them, unlike some emails I have received. The ripping here of you guys is also just as justified as the ripping you guys give the players and teams.

[LongDays]

I just heard about todays press conference. Sorry I live out of town so I'm behind a little. It must have been a riot to listen to. If anyone has a link to it, please post. I need to hear how the news boys would run the team. LOL.

[Tom]

I'm all for ripping the media, but the Buffalo News Sports Staff had been very pro-management this entire past season. This may be why they have been so critical the past few weeks. This entire scene is almost a direct playback of the Donahoe/Mularkey debacle. The curtain has been pulled, and the Wizard exposed.

[Mark]

Drury was a mistake, Briere was not. The economics of the NHL are stupid right now and maybe Quinn has screwed it up, his track record from before still follows him. In concept the cap was designed to pay 1 to 3 players star money, and fill in with the rest. Vanek has potential but right now is at best a five or six player. Given that, it suggests that a team should commit 30 million to its top five or six, using 20 million for the rest, which will not work, so the lockout didn't work. As an aside, we have to remember in the history of the Sabres pure goal scorers dont come up often, and they are Rick Martin, Danny Gare, Ray Sheppard(Bowman wanted him to check), Mogilny and now Vanek. Robert is in the mix as well, but the key has been a gifted center, we have that in Connelly.

And Vanek wants to be in Buffalo and be a Sabre!

[GregK]

My isn't it fashionable to complain about everything the SAbres manangent do. Can we all please stop acting like negotiating a contract is a one-way street.

The Sabres could not have signed TV yesterday for 5mil because his agent wasn't negotiating with the Sabres. He was out soliciting an offer sheet. TV's agent has been telling him all year to wait it out and let the market show your value. Despite all of your protestations, there was no way the Sabres could have signed TV during the year.

and by the way, for all you that are ignorant of the rules, you cannot renogiate or extend a player's contract unless it is in the final year. The problem is, that once you get to the final year the player is less motivated to sign because of the pot of gold he can see at the end of the year.

[William Kyriakakos]

Losing Briere and Drury is a great loss, but not a loss we can't recover from. I am assuming of course that Tim Connelly steps up and becomes the hockey player the Sabres believe he is going to be. You think the Sabres would pay 2.5 million a year for a guy spending the year at clinics if they didn't think he is a special player? And if you are thinking that the Sabres need to sign a 35 goal scorer via free agency, think again. We will still have enough scoring but I believe the Sabres brass wants to go in the direction of the Anaheim Ducks and sign a stud defencemen or a great forchecking winger. This is the paradigm for a Stanley Cup champion come the playoffs when the shooting lanes become much smaller and the scoring goes down.

[Rick Jeneret]

What a Joke Quinn is. You really think the rest of the teams in the NHL are shaking in their boots because they're afraid Larry Quinn and his management team of cheapskates can ever sign any big star for big bucks? Give me a break. Vanek notwithstanding the Sabres are a in small market and are lucky to even exist. Yeah they have been really fun to watch the last few years no thanks to Mr. Quinn. The credit belongs to the talented scouting staff. The Buffalo Sabres are the Montreal Expos of hockey. They will develop the talent, but other teams will end up with that talent because Buffalo can't afford them. We all know where the Expos are now.

NOW DO YOU BELIEVE, NOW DO YOU BELIEVE!!!!?

[Bill]

The focus of this article is on Lowe and his viscious attempt to screw the Sabres some more! I dont blame Regeir and Quinn for being mad! Lowe is an idiot and the worst GM in the league! Why make a ridiculous offer to Vanek for no reason, just to let NJ and Anaheim know they better sign those guys soon! Come on ... we arent idiots! I hope the Sabres pillage the Oilers ... They are much worse off in Edmonton then Buffalo, thats for sure!
I wouldnt be suprised if Buffalo went after a RFA. Listen, Clarke did it, now Lowe is doing it, its just a matter of time before this becomes mainstream! The old saying is kick or be kicked, well the Oilers had their foot heading towards the sabres arse, its time for Buffalo to start kicking back ...
PS. Derek Morris is on his way to Buffalo, not a bad guy for the blue line! Slowly but surely, the team will get back to at least a playoff team

[Mike Naylon]

i swam in the ocean today

[LarryQuinn]

I am not Juvenile!!! Na na na na, WE SIGNED VANNNNN -ECK!! and youuuuu who didn't... : P Sticks and stones may break my bones, but calling me names , blundering Sabres contracts, failing to bring bass pro and tumbling scoreboards WILL NEVERRR HURT ME!! (GIVING MY SMUG ARROGANT I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ME POSE WITH ARMS CROSSED AND HANDS TIED. )

[Dee]

"I wonder how the fans in Edmonton respond to such swashbuckling moves. Can Buffalo fans even fathom such a thing?"

We spent some time yesterday reading the Oilers' fans messages on their web site, and they were absolutely thrilled with the prospect of gaining Vanek. Their disappointment at the Sabres matching the offer was just as great. They too are a small market team and while many blast Lowe for the maneuver (me included), it was an attempt to better his team. Let's just be glad we retained the rights to this young man and build around his talents.

[roland hayes]

Could have kept Briere for teh same money. Then Drury would have wanted to stay. And we could have gotten draft picks for VAnek. At least we resigned Regier and Lindy!

[Mike K]

The Oilers were in their rights to do this. It's Sabres management that failed to get a deal done earlier. The Sabres powers that be are really being a great mirror of the city, a bunch of complainers.

[Doug]

Now I'm not the biggest fan of Larry Quinn, but I don't think calling for Regier's head makes any sense. I think alot of fans around here are a little too "what have you done for me lately" and lose sight of the big picture frequently.

Darcy Regier is one of the better GM's in professional sports. He has put together 4 conference final appearences in the last 9 years - with 2 drastically different teams. This man knows how to build a winner.

One thing I think many overlook is Regier's unique way that he goes about doing his job. You see, the common tenure for an NHL GM is around 3-5 years, so many act accordingly - signing huge lengthy contracts without worrying about the long term rammifications. That's where Darcy is different. Every move he makes is truly in the best interest of the franchise.

As for the Vanek signing, we didn't have a choice. Steve Bartlett was using the offer sheet as leverage for a longer and bigger deal - and it worked. I'm not too thrilled with the Oilers, but they did play within the rules...and they're in terrible shape, so I don't blame them. I believe that this situation brings up a bigger issue. Having young players go through restricted free agency was originally intended to benefit their respective teams. Now, we've got agents seeking big money offer sheets from desperate teams so their 23 year old 2 year player can make money that they don't deserve.

My chief concern about this whole week is this - Is the new CBA working? How can the salary cap go up 6 million dollars in a league where attendance is poor? Will promising young players hit a big payday way before they should?

Ultimately, I'm hoping that these problems will fix themselves in a few years when some of these big money/long contract players bomb and the rest of the owners wise up to the dangers of operating this way. Otherwise, this league is in a heap load of trouble again.

As for Darcy - keep up the good work.

[Ian]

Once again, if management had the foresight to negotiate contracts in mid-season rather then wait to the players became free agents, Drury and Briere would still be here. Vanek will make more next season, then Miller will make for the life of his three year deal. Can anyone say HOLDOUT.

[Heather B.]

When exactly did you guys want the Sabres to negotiate with Vanek? Last season? Why would a team sign a rookie - a player whose rights they have for two or three more years - to a long-term contract? I don't think anyone anticipated the poaching of RFAs back then and once it was clear that might happen, the Sabres made attempts. Vanek's agent has been very upfront about the fact that he had Vanek hold off on any negotiations until they saw what kind of offer sheets were going to come down the pike. I'm not sure what else you wanted management to do in this situation. It's pretty easy to GM with those 20/20 hindsight goggles on.

[Dumb and Dumber= Quinn/Regier]

Anyone on here who is blasting Kevin Lowe for offering said RFA contract is totally clueless and shouldnt be blaming him! Wake-up crybabies and look at the morons in the Sabres front office who couldnt be proactive if Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemiuex and Steve Yzerman, in their primes wanted to play for Buffalo on a $1 contract.
Quinn is the one to blame. He gives the marching orders to Regier. He's the one whom told the scouting dept to pack their bags and hit the bricks. He's the one who gave us the worst emblem in pro sports- the BuffaSlug. He's the one who let Jay McKee, Mike Grier, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury exit stage left and hes the one who told Regier to go back to sleep and not worry about the pending RFA offers to Thomas Vanek.
Kevin Lowe, say what you want, and the fact hes in a small-market city like Buffalo but at least the guy has a "set" to try to improve his team; something Quinn and Regier know nothing about, unless you consider adding old farts like Teppo Numminen and Joceyly Thibault to the roster. Awful!
Now I know why in a survey of NHL players last year, Buffalo came in #1 as the city LEAST desirable to go to. Again, dont blame Lowe, hes working within the parameters of the new CBA and if Quinn and Regier dont know what that is or they think its time to play nice, then we have as Sabres fans have lost already.
Think about it, whom do you want running your team? Someone who is forward thinking, can interpret the new CBA, is PROACTIVE in improving the team/solidifying its core; essentially does what it takes to help the team WIN. Or someone who whines about the arbitration process, whines about RFA contract offer sheets, bungles contract offers to star players, alienates other good players who lead their team in points and outwardly declare they want to play in Buffalo, takes the fans for ignorant boobs, resigns 39 yr old d-man way past their prime, adds a journeyman goalie, declares the team will no longer be "competitive" or compares the team to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates of the NHL and is generally clueless when it comes to improving the team? Give me Kevin Lowe any day of the week in this lifetime or the next.

[Dumb and Dumber= Quinn/Regier]

Hey "Heather B" heres a tip for your buddy Darcy Regier and his buddy Larry Quinn, why not toss out this outdated concept of non-contract negotiations within season and get it done? Just think of all the headaches that could be avoided a team ready to defend the Presidents Trophy and hopefully taking the next step to the Cup instead of now seeing a high scoring, fun team that was embraced by the community, gutted essentially? Once you figure that out maybe I will suggest you apply for the GM job; God knows you wouldnt be any worse than those idiots there now- the 2-headed ostrich, Quinn/Regier...time to bury its head in the sand.

[Doug]

Dumb and Dumber = Quinn/Regier,

You are an extremely poor excuse for a Buffalo sports fan who has no idea what he's talking about. Do you even have a grasp on what you are angry about??? or are you just in the corner massaging Bucky Gleason's shoulders for his next round of making himself look like a jerk? It's idiotic people like you that have the rest of the NHL fanbase thinking Buffalo is full of idiots.

I bet you think Vanek is "lazy" too, huh?

Get a clue, homer.

-Doug

[JJ]

While the Sabres might have been ahead of the curve in identifying the types of players who would succeed in the new NHL, the past week has certainly revealed that the organization is not quite up to speed with the business side of the new CBA. Their policy of not negotiating contracts during the season has bitten them in a big way, and I hope that Quinn and Regier have learned their lesson. Only time will tell.

With respect to Vanek, did the Sabres pay too much? Probably so. But just think what would have happened had the organization let him slip away to Edmonton. The Sabres would have joined the Predators in the race to the bottom, and it would have sent a pretty clear message to Derek Roy, Ryan Miller, and the rest of the players in the NHL that the Sabres weren't serious about competing. It also probably would have made it much more difficult for Buffalo to lure free agents to the city in the future and to retain its current players. When you combine that with the likely impact that Vanek's departure would have had on an already nervous fan base, maybe the Sabres weren't so much paying for Vanek but paying to bring a sense of stability back to the franchise. Could all of this been avoided? Probably so. But all the team can do now is learn from its mistakes and move on. The Sabres have always played their best when no one expected anything from them, so let's hope they can continue that trend next year.

[Dumb and Dumber= Quinn/Regier]

Hey "Doug" I will match you hockey knowledge for hockey knowledge or better yet "common sense" something you evidently have none of any day of the week. The problem w/ignorant people like yourself is you live in glass houses but then throw stones. Tell me youre not happy about the way the Sabres management has royally screwed things up? But then sound of on me because Im saying precisely what youre not? Evidently youre part of the Sabres management team and think Bucky Gleason is a clueless idiot but fail to see the real picture. The Sabres management couldve had Vanek locked up awhile ago and they sat on their hands thinking noone would come calling for him. Coincidentally Vaneks one of my favorite players on the squad, saw him win the NCAA Frozen 4 championship in Buffalo so Id hardly think hes lazy. He wasnt +47 for nothing you moron! Or cant you grasp the +/- concept or how it works?
Its people like you who make the city and the fans look like the ignorant buffoons they canbe at times. I love my team and my city and I can sound off when I feel both are being jerked around or are not open to that either?
And your suggestions for the debacle the past few days are what? I saw nothing offered in your rant besides personal attacks on me because youre uninformed and couldnt state anything w/merit to stand on. Typical, uninformed idiot who spouts off and complains but offers nothing. I guess youre happy w/the team for next season and think Quinn and Regier are doing a swell job. Well youre living on mars apparently too...Bring facts next time to back up your jibberish or dont bring anything! You must be Heathers boyfriend I bet too.

[Ron Link]

I could understand the Sabres waiting until the season ended before negotiating with Drury & Briere...this is the team's "policy." Do not negotiate contracts in season.
But they goofed up because the team's brass underestimated the open market value of both Drury & Briere and they waited TOO LONG before doing anything at all to even show an interest in keeping either player. So they lost both.
And then they did...nothing.
I wanted the team to get Nylander. But the Sabres did nothing.
Now the team's brass acts surprised and offended that the Oilers made a rich contract offer to Thomas Vanek. Why? Vanek is a damn good player. Once again Larry and Darcy underestimated the value that Vanek would have to another team, a team that obviously wanted him badly.
Well that's too bad for them.
If Larry Quinn keeps making these kinds of errors in judgment, the team will be mediocre very quickly. The team will lose all of its good and VALUABLE players to all the other franchises in the league.
Larry Quinn should be fired.

[Heather B.]

Dumb and Dumber, I have no interest in applying for the position of GM because, unlike some people, I understand that there's much more to the job than I, as a fan, can and will ever understand. I do know that Drury's camp has told us that the Sabres did have contract talks with them during the season so you can quit banging on the "they don't negotiate during the season" drum. Again, Bartlett made it quite clear that he knew where the market for Vanek was going in the off-season. If you believe a camp that happily signed a 7 million dollar offer sheet from another team would've accepted far less from the Sabres in January, I'm not sure you should be here lecturing other people on how things work.

[Ron Link]

I have to say, Dumb & Dumber, in defense of the Sabres, I do believe the policy of not negotiating contracts during the season served the pourpose of not showing favoratism or otherwise ditracting the players from the task at hand. Playing games in the regular season. No harm done there. It is simply the team's policy. Period. I cannot say whether the team would have then gone ahead and singed Drury or Briere for "less money" during the regular season if it was never their policy to begin with to seriously negotiate during the regular season! This is sour grapes! And we all know that hindsight is 20-20. So we cannot blame them for that. To do this is unfair.
I believe that AS SOON AS THE SEASON ENDED it was incumbent on the management to begin negotiating in good faith with Drury and Briere ASAP. But they stalled. This was a mistake. And it's the money $$$$. The team is fiscally conservative. As time goes by, the free agent player is very likely to become tempted to go ahead and "test" the free agent market. The closer Danny and Chris moved to the July 1st deadline, the more likely it became that the Sabres had made a mistake in their failure to negotiate sooner because the players know there is an interest and the players know their in for a big payday.
The deal with Vanek is similar in that certainly it was naive for both Larry and Darcy to believe that a team with a genuine interest in Thomas Vanek would not make a very serious offer. Moreover, one would be inclined to believe that such an offer would have to be "on the high end" in order to make it difficult to match. The Oilers were taking a big risk. Four first rounders is a steep price to pay once you've doled out a 7-year, $50 million dollar offer to one player. But Edmonton did it.
So again Darcy and Larry and naive and in this way very mistaken about what free agency is all about. Let's hope they learn from these mistakes.
Either that or Tom Galisano can fire Larry Quinn.